Foot-brush



J-. MELLOR. FOOT BRUSH (No Model.)

No. 551,552. Patented Dec. 17, 1895.

W/TNESSES: 1

M. PNQTGYU'I'HQWASHINGTON D C JOHN MELLOR, OF ASPEN, COLORADO.

F O O T B R U S H SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No.551,552, dated December 17, 1895.

Application filed February 28, 1895. $eria1N0. 540,058. li o model ToaZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN MELLOR, of Aspen, in the county of Pitkin andState of Colorado, have invented a new and useful Foot- Brush, of whichthe following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to foot-brushes, and has for its object to producea very durable and effective brush of this class, which will permit ofreadily and quickly cleaning the shoes or boots from mud, snow, dust,&c., which will not easily become clogged, and which will have thecombined action of a wiper and a scraper.

To these ends my invention consists in the novel construction andarrangement of parts that will behereinafter described and claimed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming apart ofthis specification, in which Figure 1 a side elevation of the improvedfoot'brush, partly in section, on the line 1 1 of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is anend elevation thereof, with parts broken away; and Fig. 3 is an end viewshowing another form of brush.

Like letters indicate like parts in all the views.

The improved foot brush or wiper coinprises a suitable base A providedwith openings such as A for the reception of screws or the like,although other fastening means may be employed. The base is recessed, asshown at A thereby forming a chamber for the reception of the brush-headand some other parts, to be presently described. The brush consists of ahead 1-3 which is of substantially the same height and width as therecess or chamber A but of somewhat less length. The head is secured inposition on the base by means of a pin O or other suitable devices. Fromthe head extend upward the brushes D, which are made of fiat strips orwires of steel or equivalent elastic metal, and whose upper ends formthe wiping and scraping surface of the foot-brush. At the opposite endof the chamber A to the brush-head B is located a clip E consisting oftwo plates E and h respectively clasping between them a strip of rubberF, the upper end of which projects above the clip and is substantiallyflush with the top surface of the brush-tufts D. The clip members E Eare forced toward each other to clamp the rubber strip F, by means ofscrews G and nuts G, or equivalent devices, and by loosening the nut therubber may be released and slid upward or downward between the clipmembers to adjust it to the plane of the brush-tops. In this manner wearcan be taken up.

Between the clip E and the brush-head B may be interposed a scparatin gstrip or block H to leave a su'fiicicnt space between the clip and theadjoining brush D, or the block ll may be formed integral with theln'uslrhead.

W'hile the brushes D may be made all of the same length so that theirtops are in a plane surface, shown in Figs. 1 and 2, 1 prefor in somecases to make them of different lengths, so as to produce awiping-surface that will be substantially V-shaped in crosssection, asillustrated at l) in Fig. 3, the object of this particular constructionbeing to cause the upper ends of the brushes D to en gage not only thesoles, but the sides of the boot or shoe. It will be understood that therubber F and clip E may be employed in connection with the brushes D,although the rubber and clip have not been shown in Fig.

The improved foot-brush is used in the same manner as ordinaryfoot-wipers, but is more cfiective for the following reasons: The ed esof the flat strips or wires of steel employed tor the brushes D formscrapers and will obviou sly remove the mud, &c., more readily thanbristles having smooth side surfaces, without any edges; also, thebrushes being elastic, will brush the mud off better than the usualrigid scrapers. It will thus be seen that by employing steel brushes ofangular cross-section, I produce a foot-wiper which combines theadvantage of a scraper-viz., the presence of a narrow edge acting toforcibly remove the mud-with that of a brush made of bristlesvia, theelasticity of the bristles and their capability of adapting themselvesto the form of the article to be cleaned. Another advantage of the steelbrushes results from their great elasticity, which causes them toscatter the mud away, thus keeping the wiper clean and preventingclogging of the brushes, also preventing the latter from deteriorationby prolonged contact with injurious substances. This scattering effectis much stronger when brushes of angular cross-section are employed ICOthan when using brushes having smooth side surfaces, as the elasticVibrations of the brushes will not only be longitudinal, but torsionalin addition thereto. The rubber F is employed to take off any remainingwet after the use of the brush proper, and has the same action as themat commonly used.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent- An improved foot brush, consisting of a basehaving a recess in its upper surface, a brush having fiat steelbristles, the back of the brush being of substantially the same heightand width as the recess of the base, but of less length than the saidrecess and secured therein, a clip, comprising two spaced plates andclamping screws or bolts, the lower ends of the plates being secured inthat portion of the recess of the base not filled by the the same andflush with the tops of the bristles of the brush, substantially asherein shown and described.

JOHN MELLOR.

lVitnesses MARY E. MELLoR, E. A. MELLoR.

